Meet Thomas Oswald, Project Manager Automotive, whose journey exemplifies a dynamic blend of passion and expertise. What began with early exposure to automotive advancements through family connections evolved into a deep-seated career in automotive and cloud technologies. From his initial role as a developer to his current position at the intersection of technical and sales project management, Thomas’ professional path has been shaped by his unwavering curiosity and drive. In this interview, he shares insights into his evolving role, the challenges he’s faced, and his vision for the future of the automotive industry.
Half of my relatives work in the automotive industry, so I was exposed to the latest developments early on. During my studies, I worked at Continental, which gave me insights into how the automotive industry operates. Combining my affection for Porsche cars with my interest in digitization, sensors, and human interfaces, pursuing a career in the automotive industry made perfect sense to me.
By working at a SaaS company, I gained an understanding of the significant benefits of processing data in the cloud and how it enhances product development and customer experience. Digital experiences and customer journeys are becoming more important as everything becomes more connected.
Developing, producing, and driving cars rely heavily on data that needs to be processed locally, but also in the cloud. We support our partners in areas like data-driven-development, Software-Defined-Vehicle, Smart Factory, and, overall, in the race to the cloud.
Being at the intersection of cloud and automotive development, having experience in areas like embedded systems or CAN is beneficial. In this intersection, we’re fortunate to use cutting-edge and widely adopted technology. This allows us to learn from the big technology companies. We use both public and private cloud technologies, along with data processing, analytics and machine learning techniques. Therefore, AI, Big Data and cloud knowledge are must-haves. A DevOps mindset – “you build it, you run it” – is often underestimated but crucial.
In my opinion, there are certain skills that will boost your career: collaboration, engaging with stakeholders (customers, management, etc.), and leadership. All of these can be trained, and I have gathered some lessons from my own experience on these topics.
Say what you do, do it, and then speak about your accomplishments or failures. If you fail, you'll learn enough not to repeat the same mistake. If you succeed, you’ll be rewarded. Courage is rare but essential for career success.
Another important quality is going the extra mile and pushing forward. Trying to be one step ahead and actively participating is key to building experience and confidence. This approach helps people quickly recognize your value and worth.
Get and give feedback. No matter your position, you’ll always have opportunities to ask for and offer feedback, and to coach others in return. This will have a big impact on your organization.
Essentially, we’re building products. So don’t think about the project as just a development task – think about it as creating a product you want real users to love. Ever heard about the empty chair at Amazon? Focus on designing captivating user journeys and helping your users have the best experience possible.
Finally, establish a learning mindset and surround yourself with inspiring people. As Jim Rohn said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” And that’s something you’ll find at companies like intive.
I started as a developer and contributed to various projects early on. From there, I began architecting software components and entire products, gaining experience in the full software lifecycle. These were challenging times, as I had to develop code in a fast-paced environment, learning how to be more productive and deliver quickly. Taking over low-quality software and producing meaningful increments was hard at first (TDD helped me a lot!). Using Domain Driven Design methods to understand, structure, and refactor was essential in building major platform releases.
Leading teams through new product versions and standalone projects, I learned the art of product and project management. Since products and projects don’t sell themselves, I also engaged in sales and marketing to reach out to and convince new customers. I took on many responsibilities early in my career, learning by example and through self-teaching. I'm very grateful to my former manager, who taught me a lot in a hands-on way. Consulting for customers and delivering professionally is harder than it seems!
Currently, I’m at the intersection of technical and sales project management, driving various sales initiatives when I’m not focused on project work. Automotive and the industrial sector as a whole are becoming more digitized, and that’s where intive and I come into play.
In terms of technology, I subscribe to various RSS feeds like HackerNews and specific blogs. When something piques my interest, I just try it out myself – a way of learning that I’ve enjoyed for a long time.
I also listen to podcasts and read books and blog posts from industry leaders like Bill Campbell, Marty Cagan, David Heinemeier Hansson (big fan of Rails), Roger Fisher, and others to learn about products, organizations, and leadership.
I’ve faced my share of escalations, last-minute sales pitches, goal-oriented hackathons, and demanding product releases. These situations can be very stressful and nerve-wracking. The most important lesson I’ve learned is to prioritize. No matter the stage, take a step back and decide on your next steps. And communication – without communication and collaboration, these situations are likely to end in disaster.
Seek out mentors and surround yourself with experts. Their guidance can provide new perspectives, which are crucial for tackling complex problems that often require out-of-the-box thinking.
In the near future, cars will provide more assistance and services, becoming more defined by software. Autonomous driving is expected to become more widespread in the mid-term, leading to mobility services emerging as the next big thing in the automotive industry.
I said that you need to surround yourself with inspiring people. These kinds of people work at intive. Their experiences, passion and collaboration are something that fascinates me and I’m proud to be part of it!
Getting to know diverse organizational and technical environments through our customers is something I enjoy very much, too. We’re working hard to have excellent customer relations, and this results in a working environment defined by mutual trust and quality.
Finally, we are small enough to make an impact as a single collaborator. But still big enough to offer a broad perspective, connections, and partnerships beyond just one niche area.